The Detroit Tigers professional baseball team brought a lot of excitement around this area of the country last year and those of us here in Michigan hope they can do it again. It became a ritual for a large portion of the guys at the seminary to watch the games together every night during the playoffs after the day was done and classes were finished. We were all hoping for a World Series but didn't see it happen. So, as we wait to see if the Tigers can repeat last year's preformance, we look to sunny Florida where "the boys" are on spring training, far away from the snow and ice that surround us here in frozen Michigan. LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers entered the 2006 season facing a wide assortment of questions, perhaps chief among them "What were they thinking?" when they picked their new manager.
This year the Tigers have hardly any issues to address in camp, and the answer to their biggest question — Will they get complacent and take a step back? — comes in the form of that once-questioned choice of a skipper.
Jim Leyland, last season's AL Manager of the Year after guiding the Tigers to a 24-game improvement and a World Series appearance, remains the focal point of a club that's favored by many observers to win the rugged AL Central.
"Leyland's the key to everything," third baseman Brandon Inge said. "He's the reason we stay on track. We get focused for games and we prepare for games, and then we go out and have fun. Win, lose or draw, he doesn't care as long as we play hard."
Leyland's the one players point to when the topic of post-success complacency comes up. He harped on the importance of not resting on last year's laurels, to the point players began parroting the message.
"They're almost telling me that they can't be satisfied with what they did last year, so that's a pretty good sign," said Leyland, who returned to the dugout after a six-year hiatus. "One thing I like about this team is we have a chance to get better. I don't know if that's going to mean more wins or not, but we have some players who have a chance to get better."
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Looks like they're off to a good start
3 comments:
Of course you know that God's preferred sport is football, and that he favors the Green Bay Packers heavily...
Still, the return of baseball is a good thing, as it portends warm weather, clear skies and cold beer.
Okay Tim, I agree with everything you say concerning warm weather,and clear skies BUT, you can always have cold beer, it just taste better when it is hot out! and obviously I think God does not prefer the Packers. At least not lately(Sorry, just using my eyes)
Those he favors he sometimes chastises :)
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